Clinton Wins West Virginia Primary by Decisive Margin
Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters in Charleston, W. Va., after winning the West Virginia Democratic primary Tuesday by a wide margin. (AP Photo)
Hillary Clinton, declaring “this race isn’t over yet,” beat Barack Obama by a decisive margin in the West Virginia Democratic primary Tuesday.
Returns showed Clinton was beating Obama by better than 2-to-1. She was capturing almost every demographic group, and doing particularly well among the large group of white, working-class voters in the state.
West Virginia offers just 28 pledged delegates, and so Clinton’s victory Tuesday, which was widely expected, will have little impact on the overall trajectory of the race. Obama, leading Clinton by a wide margin in total delegates, has already started turning his campaign toward the general election.
But the Clinton win prolongs the race and fuels the New York senator’s argument that she is able to carry groups that will be important to Democrats in November.
“We know from the Bible that faith can move mountains, and my friends, the faith of the Mountain State has moved me,” Clinton said at her primary rally in Charleston, W. Va. “I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has had a chance to make their voices heard … This continues to be a hard-fought race from one end of our country to the other.”
Final West Virginia returns showed Clinton won with 67 percent of the vote, compared with Obama’s 26 percent. John Edwards, who dropped out of the race in January, remained on the ballot and still drew 7 percent.
Cheers of “It’s not over! It’s not over!” broke out at Clinton’s state headquarters in Charleston after the race was called.
Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe told FOX News before polls closed that he doesn’t see it as inevitable that Obama will become the Democratic nominee.
“Hillary Clinton is in this to the end, she’ll win this nomination,” he said in the evening, before introducing Clinton to a raucous audience.
Exit polls highlighted the demographic divide between the coalitions of Clinton and Obama, but with little diversity in the state, Clinton also scored well among Obama’s traditional support groups.
Among her typical backers — white voters, women, seniors and non-college educated, Clinton polled above 65 percent in each group.
Obama campaigned lightly in West Virginia and repeatedly said Clinton would probably win both that state and Kentucky, which holds its primary next Tuesday.
“There is no question that Senator Clinton is going to win by huge margins in the upcoming primaries in West Virginia today and Kentucky next week,” the campaign said in a memo Tuesday.
It reminded voters that Obama won neighboring Virginia by double digits in February and that the Illinois senator has racked up nearly as many superdelegates in the past week as there are pledged delegates at stake in West Virginia.
As Clinton and her supporters gathered in Charleston Tuesday, Obama spoke at an economic town hall meeting in Missouri, without mentioning Clinton once during his prepared remarks. He mentioned President Bush eight times and John McCain five times.
“This is our moment to turn the page on the divisions and distractions that pass for politics in Washington,” Obama said.
Obama’s decision to spend Tuesday night in Missouri reflects the shift in focus the campaign has made toward November since one week ago, when he won the North Carolina primary by double digits and held Clinton to a narrow victory in Indiana.
Obama is now looking to Oregon, which votes May 20 along with Kentucky, to nudge him toward the finish line. Polls show him ahead in Oregon, and he campaigned there over the weekend.
Obama ended Tuesday with 1,883.5 delegates, to 1,717 for Clinton. It takes 2,025 to win. Clinton had picked up 20 of the 28 delegates in West Virginia, compared to eight for Obama.
But since his North Carolina win, nearly 30 superdelegates — party officials and insiders who are not obligated by election results to support any candidate — have swung to Obama.
Clinton took criticism last week for defending her presence in the race by raising her ability to attract white voters, during an interview with USA Today.
But according to exit polls, one in five voters said race was an important factor in their decision.
McAuliffe said the final days of the Democratic race, though, are not about race. He said they are mostly about the economy and the Iraq war. Indeed, a majority of West Virginia voters surveyed in exit polls said the economy was the top issue.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Yes, really she needs to get out. Time is critical. We have so many issues that need to be discussed and she is whinning because it appears that she is losing. I am ready for the fight against the republicans because they think they are going to win again. I’m for Obama, but if he don’t get the nominee, I will support Billary unwillingly. And for all those folks who say if Billary don’t get the nominee they will vote McCain, you are voting against yourself. See me, my economics have always been at a certain level, other words I know how to live below my means. I’m going to do what it takes to continue earning a living. But there are some folks that will not make it any you don’t want to become one of them. So folks wise up, we need to pull together and vote for our democrate nominee whether it is Billary or Obama.
In Mingo, Logan and Wyoming counties she had 88%, 84%, and 80%. They are in the southwest next to Kentucky. In that whole area she beat him in every county by 70%. He didn’t win one county in the whole state!!!
all of you democrats that say, i will not vote for OBAMA if he is the nominee, just face it and let the truth out, you wont vote for him because youre racist, i am a black american soldier, i am a democrat, if by some very very very very very very tiny chance hillarious clinton were to capture the nomination, i would stay true to the party and vote for her even though i dont like her, so i say once again, those of you that are her supporters just admit it as to why you wont vote for him
Do not read to much into the WV win, she was supposed to win WV. All she is doing is creating a rift between democratic supporters the longer she continues to run in the primary. This is clearly shown in exit polls by the number of her supporters who would not support Obama in the presidential election, and vice versa. If either wins the nomination and you decide to vote for McCain or not at all out of spite, you should be ashamed of yourselves! People do not want 4 more years of Bush politics, which is exactly what we will get with McBush and we have already had 8 years of Clintonomics. This country does not needs a continuency of the last 8 years or to be retreaded from the 90’s. Obama is the best candidate to bring about the changes we all need.
The government needs an overhual, the people of this country deserve to be respected by the people and the system we elect for a change! Our taxes pay for EVERYTHING!! Including the huge full pensions ALL the elected officials get after they leave office and retire. How much will you get when you retire or will you still have to work after you retire? Government officials do not have to worry about health insurance because our taxes pay them in full! Does the government pay for your medical care? last I knew there was a piece of paper laying around here somewhere that starts by saying what was it? Oh “We the people”! Not “You my government”! We need change, we need Obama!!
Great for Hillary! Now she just needs to win every other state left by the same margin and then hope that Obama has Superdelegete defectors.
Could Hillary win? Yes. Could the Reds win the World Series? Yes. Could Kansas City win the Super Bowl? Yes. Will any of these come close to happening? No!
It does seem that Hillary Hating has backfired, partly for the reason that so much of the media has anointed Obama, and partly because it is a tired trope. Even the dullest person can see that Hillary, slow out of the blocks, has been stronger, tougher, and more resilient that anyone could have imagined.
moeursalen.blogspot.com
Obama would not be in the position he is in if the January and February primaries would have been held after the March revelations about Obama that have so turned America against him. I for one voted for him in the Primary because I was not aware of those things, but would have voted for Clinton had I known then what I did now. West Virginia is just an example of how America feels about Obama. He will not win in a general election.
i”m glad that Hillary Clinton won West Virginia, and I hope that my message are important, she still been having a good month since winning texas and all the other big state. we don’t give her enough credit for her effort and i believe that we should.I never liked the Clinton in the pass but now they have open my eyes as i grow up seeing that anything is possible and since then they have inspired me and makes me wake up everyday feeling good about myself just by speaking . Clinton For President and Obama for vice president.
Fortunately, WV has the rest of the United States to keep if from making the mistake of nominating Hillary Clinton. They are not even smart enough to recognize that HRC insults them by referring to them as “blue-collar, less-educated, hard-working, white Americans” (i.e. ignorant, poor, white, racist trash). Unfortunately for Hillary, she’s out smarted herself because she doesn’t realize (out of touch) that the majority of these great Americans either don’t own a computer or don’t know how to use one. So, when she begs them to go to her webpage and donate money, she’s talking to Obama supporters and our answer is HELL NO! That’s why she’s $20M in debt. Thank goodness the rest of the U.S. is not blinded by her lies and trickery. She’s done as a politician. Only an idiot thinks fighting just to show you can fight makes you tough. It doesn’t. It makes you an idiot.
Bessi Johannsdottir, your an idiot shut the h_ll up
you Europeans have no fortitude or pride in yourselves.
Clinton is a lost cause a desperate individual with no class, and ignorant
people with racial hatred are keeping her afloat. simply put she’s riding the wave of hate
and she’s loving it. whats funny she’s said that the uneducated votes for her and they don’t even realize it’s an insult. this is an Obama vs. Mccain fight so dumb people pull up a chair may the best man win. fyi even the feminist cult is torn cause Obama’s message is reasonating in their hearts.